The entire world was shocked recently when Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex announced that they would be resigning from their positions as senior royals. Although it is true that they have been experiencing some turbulent times — and even went so far as to say that they were not exactly happy with royal life — it was still an announcement that no one really saw coming.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are notoriously private, and they have been trying to stay out of the royal spotlight for months, if not years. It hasn’t exactly been happening for them, as they have been dealing with relentless scrutiny from the media, to the point where Prince Harry had to make a statement saying that he wasn’t going to let Princess Diana’s history repeat itself with Meghan.
Royal fans were supportive of the couple, even when they decided to take a six-week break from their official duties just before the holidays. However, everyone was blind-sighted when they revealed their plans to step back. So, why are Prince Harry and Meghan’s resignation even sketchier than it seems?
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle shocked everyone
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle | Chris Jackson/Chris Jackson/Getty Images
It’s not every day that royal family members decide to step down from their positions. After all, most people imagine royal life to be pretty glamorous, and millions of fans were envious of Meghan when she married into the British Monarchy.
As we know, the duke and duchess have not exactly been having an easy time. They have taken more than their fair share of backlash from just about everyone, and the pressure has been taking a toll on them.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle took Queen Elizabeth by surprise
Queen Elizabeth is always the first to know about major decisions that go on in the lives of her family members. Often times, they come to her for guidance when plans are still in the early stages, and sometimes, senior royals have to seek her majesty’s approval before doing things.
Yet, the queen was just as shocked as everyone when Meghan and Prince Harry announced that they were stepping back, as she was not notified of the decision well in advance as she usually is. To make matters even worse, Page Six reports that Meghan and Prince Harry didn’t really do things as they should.
While he should have sat down with his brother, Prince William, as well as Prince Charles early on to discuss things, he didn’t do that. Prince Harry’s method has been slammed by royal fans and critics as being disrespectful to his immediate family members.
Also, Meghan and Prince Harry’s announcement was poorly timed, coming the day before Kate, Duchess of Cambridge’s birthday. Many royal fans found the timing to be unfair to the Duchess of Cambridge.
Why is Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s resignation sketchy?
As if all of this weren’t bad enough, the resignation gets even sketchier the further we delve into it. How so? Well, Prince Harry and Meghan had plenty of time to do things in a much more favorable way, rather than shocking everyone so abruptly.
Quitting royal life isn’t a decision that anyone makes in a short amount of time, so most likely, they have been planning it since their tour of Africa in the fall. Documentary filmmaker Tom Bradby recently said that he feels that “Megxit” may have been in the works since then, considering as to how Meghan and Prince Harry have been feeling for months.
They spoke in the documentary about the difficulties that they face every day as members of the world’s most famous family. This suggests the documentary was planting the seed of their exit and this plan has been formed for several months.
Neither of them enjoys being in the spotlight to that extent, and it appears that they have truly had enough. Even so, had they approached things a bit differently, it wouldn’t have come as the major shock that it was.
